Evina Westbrook #22, Paige Bueckers #5, and Christyn Williams #13 of the UConn Huskies walk down the court during the second half against the Baylor Lady Bears in the Elite Eight round of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament at the Alamodome on March 29, 2021 in San Antonio, Texas. Carmen Mandato/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Carmen Mandato / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Paige Bueckers scored 28 points as top-seeded UConn secured its 13th straight Final Four appearance with a 69-67 victory over second-seeded Baylor on Monday in San Antonio.
Bueckers made 10 of 22 shots and Christyn Williams added 21 points for the Huskies (28-1), who benefited from a key 19-0 run to put away the Lady Bears and advance through the River Walk Region. UConn next will face Mercado Region champion Arizona. The third-seeded Wildcats (20-5) defeated fourth-seeded Indiana 66-53 later Monday.
Huskies. Win. pic.twitter.com/iFir84QjQF
— UConn Women’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) March 30, 2021
DiJonai Carrington scored 14 of her 22 points in the first half and NaLyssa Smith collected 14 points and 13 rebounds for Baylor (28-3), the de facto defending national champions, having won the 2019 title.
Moon Ursin’s jumper gave Baylor a 55-45 lead with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter before UConn countered with a 19-0 run, highlighted by Bueckers’ leaner in the lane and a 3-pointer.
Paige Bueckers adds to the 19-0 run for UConn with this triple 😯 @espnW | #ncaaW pic.twitter.com/GdiNwNhk9M
— ESPN (@espn) March 30, 2021
Williams’ transition layup gave the Huskies a 68-63 lead before Carrington sank four straight free throws to bring the Lady Bears within one with 17.2 seconds left. Williams missed both free throws at the other end, but Carrington was unable to sink an off-balance jumper with one second remaining.
Williams subsequently made one of two foul shots to finish the scoring.
Baylor erased an early 12-point deficit and claimed its first lead at 34-33 with 3:56 remaining in the second quarter after Carrington hit a turnaround jumper. Carrington scored Baylor’s last five points of the quarter, including a put-back after a missed free throw to stake the Bears to a 39-37 advantage at halftime.